ST. LOUIS, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A New Year's Eve storm that ripped through parts of Arkansas and Missouri, spawning tornadoes, killed at least seven people, officials said Saturday.
Tornadoes touched down in several other states, including Oklahoma and Illinois. A tornado watch was in effect Saturday for southwest Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, the National Weather Service said.
Four deaths were reported in Missouri and three in Arkansas, ABC News Radio said. The Arkansas victims were killed when a tornado flattened a house in Cincinnati, a tiny village in the state's northwest corner.
In Missouri, the bodies of Ethel Price, 69, and Alice Cox, 74, were found outside the trailer they shared near Rolla south of St. Louis, Stlouistoday.com reported.
The other deaths occurred in Dent County in the south-central part of the state.
At Fort Leonard Wood, 200 miles southwest of St. Louis, about 50 homes were damaged, with 12 being gutted, a spokesman for the Army base, said. About 300 people were homeless, at least temporarily.
The NWS said at least six tornadoes hit the St. Louis area. They caused extensive property damage, including the destruction of 12 houses in North St. Louis, but no deaths or serious injuries were reported.
The Rev. George Fulgham said two buildings at Shiloh Baptist Church in Robertsville were damaged. The congregation will meet Sunday in another church about four miles away.
"God has accelerated our building program," Fulgham said, adding he had already titled his Sunday sermon "New Beginnings". UPI
